


Big Brother

by armored_alchemist



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Elricest, M/M, Right?, but it's all for the best, slightly manipulative Al
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-04
Updated: 2017-10-04
Packaged: 2019-01-08 21:56:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12262848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/armored_alchemist/pseuds/armored_alchemist
Summary: Okay, so maybe Al uses his collective genius to guide Ed into a corner with no other alternative. But it'll all work out for the best, right?After all, it's the only logical option. It's the only real option left for the both of them.





	1. Chapter 1

> _it's probably what's best for you_
> 
> _I'll  only want the best for you_
> 
> _And if I'm not the best then_
> 
> _You're stuck_
>
>> >  
>>> 
>>> He was stuck in a hunk of metal that didn't know how to sleep. So thinking, questioning, contemplating - he certainly had lots of time to do all three and more.
>> 
>>  
> 
> What did Alphonse Elric think of late at night, when his elder brother slept?
> 
>  
> 
> Kittens? Soft, furry things that mewed oh so adorably? Maybe for a second, until he remembered that he'd forgotten what exactly they felt like.
> 
>  
> 
> Mom? Surely so. Al had thought about her as often as his brother. He tried to dance around and suppress the truths about her passing. One especially lonely night, he'd finally been able, ashamed, to confront the fact that he couldn't remember what her hugs felt like, and even more ashamedly, he was jealous of his brother for being able to bring back those memories with some sense of feeling to put them into context. For Al, memories were just images. They may as well be mere photographs.
> 
>  
> 
> Though not quite as badly as his brother, Alphonse found it hard to admit he still needed his mommy. Only she could make peanut butter jelly sandwiches the way he liked; for whatever reason, he didn't know, and probably never would. Also, she gave the best hugs in the whole wide world (though Teacher Izumi's came pretty close). Both Elrics agreed on that.
> 
>  
> 
> But that had been months ago. A done deal, fears confronted and conquered. Those weren't the easiest thoughts to cope with, but he did, just as he coped with the body.
> 
>  
> 
> Speaking of which, his body? Could that be what his mind dwelled on all these nights? No. C'était la premiere chose he'd forced himself to come to terms with. Al knew he had to do so before he could be of use to anyone, namely, his brother. Now, he was used to the armor suit that held his soul. Honestly, he didn't mind it. Fight all day long and not get tired, never have to worry about injury or bathroom breaks. There were benefits, and he focused on all the silver linings.
> 
>  
> 
> Those were interesting subjects which for awhile, had held his attention. Until he'd thought everything he had to think about them. So what now?
> 
> +=+=+=+=+=+
> 
>  
> 
> "Hey, brother?"
> 
>  
> 
> Ed looked up from the book he was absorbing. "Huh?"
> 
>  
> 
> "I've been thinking..." Al began. The two brothers were in an empty library, comfortably enveloped in total silence: where Ed could read a book and Al could pretend he was reading his.
> 
>  
> 
> "About what?" Asked Ed, curious. The two were so very close, it was unusual for Al to hold anything back. Maybe it was about girls.
> 
>  
> 
> Al paused, debating on how to word it. "Have you called Winry recently?" A safe intro to the real subject.
> 
>  
> 
> Ed frowned and tried to remember, and frowned even more, slightly dismayed, when he couldn't. "Uh... No. Why, do you think I should? She's okay, right?" He worried about her loads more than he let on.
> 
>  
> 
> "Oh, oh she's fine so far as I know. I was just curious. You know," Here Al began easing into the thing on his mind, "you call her less often than you used to, brother."
> 
>  
> 
> "I know." Sighing, Ed ran a gentle hand through what hair wasn't captured in the single braid down his back. Mostly bangs. "I should keep in touch more, she probably worries herself sick about us." Ed caught himself, he'd almost said "about me."
> 
>  
> 
> Alphonse shook his head. "No, i don't think so."
> 
>  
> 
> "Why do you say that? You don't think she worries about us?" Said Edward, slightly defensive.
> 
>  
> 
> Al put his hands up, defending himself. "Not that she doesn't care! But Ed," he said, lacing his voice with sincerity, "she knows we can take care of ourselves. Winry's not waiting by the phone at all hours for a call from us. She's probably moving on with her life, she'd have to."
> 
>  
> 
> The younger Elric knew he'd said the right thing when he saw Ed's mental cogs turning, those golden eyes of his clouded with thought. He'd planted the seed. That's all he had to do. Ed would cultivate it, using the thought to come to his own conclusions. Later, Al would have to put in some more words, but nevertheless the process had begun.
> 
>  
> 
> After awhile, Ed spoke. His normally loud, compelling voice seemed so small. "D'ya think so?"
> 
>  
> 
> Al nodded. "Of course."
> 
>  
> 
> Al, if he had to, would redirect the connotation of his comments to knowing Ed was worrying himself silly about Winry, when there was actually no need to. As if he supposed that were the problem rolling around Ed's thoughts. He knew what it really was. Something simple like misplaced, unnecessary worry wouldn't bother Ed so. Heck, ed worried every day over stuff, why would an ounce more hurt? Al knew Ed was ruminating about something a little more long term.
> 
>  
> 
> After all, he did ask Win to marry him. He was only five, but the intent rang true. But if she was.. "Moving on with her life".... And Ed wasn't there to be with her, then what?
> 
>  
> 
>  _Two things_ , Al thought. She'd go out and meet somebody on accident. And she'd meet them with Ed still in the back of her mind.
> 
>  
> 
> See, that'd be doubly bad in Edward's eyes. First of all HIS GIRL, didn't need to be "meeting anyone" except clients. And second... however much it might pain Ed to admit, if Winry did find someone to make her happy, she didn't need to throw a perfectly good relationship away because she had him in the back of her mind. She'd always been waiting. With the way the Elric brothers' journey was going, she was gonna be waiting by that phone for a hell of a long time.
> 
>  
> 
> Forever, even.
> 
>  
> 
> Ed could not hold her back like that. It didn't matter what his feelings told him. He couldn't keep her at his beck and call like a dog only to wonder why she'd fallen in love elsewhere, with the way he discarded her like a used toy when he didn't directly need her skills.
> 
>  
> 
> It didn't matter that she was the only person besides his little brother that he trusted, and it didn't matter that she was kind of his only option at this point (Ed knew he wasn't going to be meeting anyone else, he couldn't).
> 
>  
> 
> It didn't matter that he was facing the life of loneliness he'd committed taboo to avoid, and it didn't matter that he loved her (and had told her so, once).
> 
>  
> 
> That, is what Ed cultivated. Al knew Ed was there by the hardened expression on his face. Suddenly, Ed basically threw the book down and all but stormed off.
> 
>  
> 
> "I'm calling Win." He called over his automail shoulder. He was gone before Al could respond.
> 
>  
> 
> Ed was boiling inside like water in a pot, but Al knew all the right things to say to calm it down. He'd been practicing for months how to go about this and what words to use.
> 
>  
> 
> Step one, bringing Ed to the edge of the cliff. Check.
> 
>  
> 
> Step two, Ed would see the end and (try to) throw himself off. Check.
> 
>  
> 
> But the essential step three: Al would not allow that, _never_  allow that, would catch Ed by the fingertips before he'd even set one foot off the edge. Alphonse Elric would always be there for his brother, suit of armor or not, to catch Ed when he couldn't hold himself up. After all, it would only be reciprocating what Edward had done a hundred times over for Al.
> 
>  
> 
> A/N:  C'était la premiere chose = It was the first thing


	2. C'est En Seul

Tried to sever ties and I

Ended up with wounds to bind

Like you're pouring salt in 

My cuts

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

"Win?"

"Edward?" Not Winry's voice, much older.

"Ohh, hi Granny Pinako. Is Winry there, I gotta talk to her. It's kind of important."

"You could call more often, you know. I don't like how any contact from you is a miracle from God himself. Or a broken arm."

Ed hung his head in shame feeling about an inch tall. "I know.. I'm sorry. I wanted to apologize to Winry too."

Pinako sighed on the other end. "She'll probably hit me with a wrench for disturbing her focus. I'll go get her, but I'm not saying who it is. You can do that."

A little silence, then, "Hello?"

"Hey, Win." 

Ha, more silence. "Hi, Ed." She only called him that nickname when she was being short with him.

"How ya doin'?" He said.

"Is it the arm or the leg this time? I can have it ready when you get here." 

"About that..." Ed decided to lie. After all, if she was moving on like Al suggested, then he could make it easier for her to do so by making it seem like he was doing the same. "I actually found a real good mechanic up here. She fixes my automail up recently. Not as good as you, though." 

"Oh.. She does?"

"I didn't wanna keep coming down there. It's kind of eating away at my budget, which that bastard colonel has been bitching at me about lately. Wasting my money that is."

Ouch.

"So coming down to visit us, is 'wasting your money'."

"No, not all! But I also want the visits to be meaningful. Me dropping in just cause I've got a broken part is basically useless. If i travel down there, I'd like it to be because I've got great news! Or to spend valuable time together, with more to talk about than a leg and how annoying my boss is."

She saw right through it, but that was alright. She'd been preparing for the day, her and her granny both, when the Elrics would stop visiting. It would be like tying loose ends shut. Resembool and everything in it was quickly becoming a distant memory. And Ed & Winry were quickly growing apart. So Winry thought.

"Oh, Ed, that's the sweetest thing you've said." Her way of letting him know it was okay to cut ties.

"I'm glad you understand. And there's one more thing." Ed mentally prepared himself. This was gonna be hard. 

"Yeahhh? What?" The automail mechanic said, smiling.

"I'm seeing someone."

Winry took a moment to collect her tears and put them back in her pocket. "Well, that's great! What's her name, is she nice, what does she look like?"

It hurt Ed to find out that Al was, as always, right. Clearly she'd taken all his kind words as careless whispers of a good friend.

"Uh," he said the first name that popped into his head, "Sheska. She's really great. I got her a job at the military library."

"I'm so happy for you. With your attitude, I didn't know if you'd find someone to put up with your rude ass." A bitter edge cut through the thin veneer of lighthearted joking.

That bitter edge stabbed like a knife, but Ed forged on. "Look, I'm sorry."

"For what?" She said, confused.

"Move on, Win. I'm not gonna be back for a long time. I might not ever come back. I don't need that nagging me in the back of my mind: having to come back so you don't miss me, like it's my duty. I don't need," he said, "a love-smitten girl waiting by the phone at all hours for a call, from her imaginary lover, that's never going to come."

He couldn't have gotten more shocked reaction had he struck her across the face. 

"I only ever loved you as a sister! Excuse me! Sorry I miss my family. Trust me, I won't make that mistake again." Click. 

Ed stood there holding the phone, similarly dumbstruck.

Al had eavesdropped the entire conversation. "Brother? Its getting kind of la-" He took a look at Ed's face and acted surprised. "What happened?"

The fullmetal alchemist hung up the phone slowly. 

"We broke up."


	3. C'est Aux Crossroads

Even though I know what's wrong

How could I be so sure?

If you never say what you

Feel, feel

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

"We broke up." Ed's eyes pricked and he grit his tough jaw to (unsuccessfully) prevent his lip from trembling. 

Al gasped softly, acting surprised. "Oh, brother..." He put a sympathetic hand on Ed's shoulder. 

"Well, actually," Ed sniffled, "I suppose we didn't, because we were never together in the first place." 

"But, you two loved each other, didn't you?"

Ed shook his head. "It was a mistake. I mistook how she felt. Winry said she only ever loved me as a sister."

"Dammit, Al!" Ed burst out suddenly. He kicked the wall for emphasis. "Dammit!" 

It took Al off guard, he said, "What?"

He turned towards his little brother with tears in his eyes. "I loved her. I love her. Doesn't that mean anything? That gave me confidence, knowing in the back of my mind that no matter what happened I had something, someone, to come home to. Now what? She's mad at me. And I can't tell her I'm sorry and that I love her, because that's not what she wants to hear." 

Ed leant back against the rusty military payphone and shoved his hands in his pockets. His head hung down, bangs covered his face. "To put it nicely, Al, I'm fucked. Well and thoroughly fucked. I don't have anything to come home to now. Seems I've burned my home down a second time."

"Then neither do I."

Ed scoffed lightly. "Yeah you do. You can go back if you want. It's not you Winry's mad at. In fact, to tell you the truth, she probably likes you better than me."

If Alphonse had eyebrows they would have shot up into his hairline.

"Brother, that isn't true and you know it. She likes both of us equally."

"Tell me, little brother. If you were stuck in an boring, empty shithole, and your one source of comfort came and went as it pleased with no regard to your feelings. Would you continue to pledge your allegiance to it? Could you?"

Really, Al thought. "Yes, big brother, I daresay I might." And his voice was unusually hard.

Ed didn't miss the shift in Al's tone, he looked up confusedly. Why so accusing? Al had his arms crossed as best he could around the chest plate which jutted out. Ed gave a quick one over of the armor holding Al's soul and it clicked.

And he was mad. 

"What? What?! Are you serious? I have no regard for your feelings? NO REGARD?! I keep you by my side at all times because I know I can't entertain you when I'm asleep! I feel bad for falling asleep! Eating! Touching! But I don't make a big fucking deal because that'd only make It worse!

"I dragged you into the military, into, a bloody fucking war with people dying every five seconds, because I'm going to get your body back, no matter what! I dont care what it takes! If i had to give my whole body to the Truth i would, and frankly with the way things are going," Ed said, pausing to take a breath, "I'm probably going to have to. There's nothing else. No leads, no alternatives. I haven't told you that, I dodged the issue, but there. If you must know. I take solace in knowing at least Winry likes you. You'll probably get married."

Ed opened his mouth to continue, but Al interrupted him before he could start. 

"Brother!" He put a hand up and Ed stopped. Cause the tremor in Al's words was like I'm-about-to-cry. "I- I know. I already knew that, everything you said. You DO have regard for my feelings, and I thank you."

The elder Elric was confused. "So what the hell? What did you mean? You mean that you follow me around despite what I've done to you?" He guesstimated, gesturing to Al's armor body.

Oh, God., thought Al. He knew he'd painted himself into a corner, figuratively. There was a back door still. He could chicken out and just pliantly agree with what Ed just said. Like he always did. 

Or he could make a move. 

"No, you didn't do this to me. The Truth did, and I welcomed it. If I wasn't just as willing as you to do the taboo to get Mom back, I'd have stopped you." Clarified Al. Ed tended to conveniently forget that small little detail.

Alphonse stood very still as he prepared himself for what could be the biggest mistake of his life. Or the very best thing that could ever happen. The fifteen-year-old was so nervous, I mean come on. 

"Well.." Al began, but his sentence trailed off.

How can you cope with possibly losing your brother?

forever? 

And ever and ever and ever?

Ed might even, out of intense brotherly love, stick around after he'd heard what Al had to say. But he'd resent Al, or he would eventually. Not that Al could blame him. After all, Alphonse would be asking a LOT of his brother. More than any normal person could give. 

However, Edward Elric wasn't just a normal person; he had the biggest heart out of all the people Al had ever met. One of the many many reasons Al loved him so very much. Maybe more than he should. 

"I..." Al began again.

Al looked down at his wonderful brother and wondered if maybe he should keep his mouth shut and appreciate what the truth gave him. It made more sense every time he considered it. 

Ed was so great. And beautiful. He'd touch Ed's golden hair the moment he had fingers that could feel. 

But did he want his body back? 

What would happen if he did? Al wouldn't be able to control himself. He'd have to touch his brother, just to make sure Ed was real. Just to make sure he himself was real, that reality was real, that it wasn't all just some silly dream. 

Touching would not be good. Maybe a handshake or a soft hug, but most likely Al would take it ten steps too far and break the relationship anyways.

Then he had his own epiphany, and realised... 'Without a body, I'm able to have a healthy relationship with big brother.'

There ya go. Count that as one more silver lining. Or golden.

Al hadn't realised the concern had been steadily growing on Ed's face until Ed stepped forward and said, "AL!" 

"Oh-?" Ed's voice snapped him out of his all-consuming thoughts. "Sorry, I must've zoned out." Al gave a halfhearted chuckle.

Ed didn't buy it. "You were gonna tell me what you meant by agreeing to my statement, and then you just lost yourself for like five, ten minutes. Is your flesh body dragging your soul out again?"

"No, no! Its not that at all. Actually," Al paused to think about it, "that only happened that once when we were in Briggs."

"Quit dodging the subject. Dont deny, I know you well enough to spot it."

Al woulda smiled. "You're right. You know me well."

"Damn right. I know you inside and out. On more than one level."

"But you, don't know everything about me." Al teased. Teased, like piqued Ed's curiosity.

"Course I do. We're brothers."

"I'm sure there's some things I don't know about you. Just as vice versa."

"See, that's where you're wrong. I've told you everything there is to know about me. All of it. Even stuff that I'd never admit to myself." Edward wanted Al to know that his big brother cared for him, a lot. 

Al's appreciation for that ran deep. And still here he was, about to throw all he ever loved away. Just so he could play around with a stupid fantasy that he shouldn't even be having. Ki-

"So, Al.." Cued Ed. "Equivalent exchange." No explanation necessary.

But Alphonse made up his mind elsewise. "It's not really important."

"Sure? You didn't seem to think questioning your own existence was important, til you yelled at me about not asking for that, 'damn body'."

...he was right. Not as badly as Ed's case, but. Yes. The armor did have a tendency to bottle things up. "No, this isn't anything near that bad," he lied.

"Don't you trust me?"

That's almost the issue at hand. "Yeah, its just something silly."

Ed smirked. "Right. You know I don't buy that."

Nodding, Al said, "I know, but I'd rather not talk about it. I like things just the way they are."

"What's that mean?"

"That I like things just the way they are, what else?" Ed rolled his eyes at that.

"I can't stand it when you roll your eyes." 

"I know, that's why I'm doing it. Maybe I can provoke you enough that you'll let this little secret of yours slip."

"Ha! Well thanks for telling me your plan, I'll be sure to go right along with it." 

"Oh, a sarcastic Alphonse? Looks like its already working." 

Al internally blushed. Ed knew what he was doing, alright. Or did he? Did he know, exactly how his words affected Al? How maybe Al took their quick banter as.......... Flirting, dare he say it?

Ed smirked even harder as he finally quit leaning against the payphone and approached his brother. "Why don't I tease you about cats? That always gets you in a tizzy."

Al took a step back. "Brother... Don't." 

Ed's face shifted to gentle concern. "Does that actually bother you? I'll stop if it does." And he meant it, he'd do anything at the drop of a hat if Al but gave the word.

"No, I don't mind the cat thing. Just, don't get too close to me."

"Why?"

"Cause I'm sick."

"Sick?" Ed hated to point it out, but Al was a suit of armor, and a hunk of metal can't exactly get an infection. Unless he was rusting. "Are you rusting? We can get some -"

"Ed, I mean it. It's not rust. But I'm sick, and I don't want you to catch it."

"Al, I don't understand." Ed was genuinely confused.

"It's disgusting, trust me. It's not something you want."

Ed was still confused and quickly becoming irritated. "Al, what the hell? Tell me what you mean?" He grabbed Al's lower arms (the only part he could reach). 

He wasn't having this weird beating around the bush junk. He wanted to know what was eating away at his brother so.

"Ed, I can't. You'll think differently of me. I don't wa-" he choked. "I don't wanna lose you!"

"I don't care what comes out of your mouth. I don't care if you were the one who filled the sugar can with salt, I don't care if you were the one who killed Maes, I don't care if you're in love with Roy Fuckin' Mustang! Just tell me what the hell's going on!!!"

Well that last one was a close enough guess. 

Al said it before he could change his mind. 

"I love you."


	4. C'est Hope

I must've held your hand so tight

You didn't have the will to fight

Guess you needed more time 

to Heal

+-+-+-+-+

Ed blinked, unfazed. "I love you too, Al. Now tell me -"

"No, Ed." Al knew he was crying, even without eyes to cry with. He looked down at his big brother, as distressed as he'd been the moment he found out the didn't have a mom anymore. "I love you."

Still Edward didn't understand. How could he? 

Al was going to put his hand on Ed's shoulder, but he changed midair and touched Ed's cheek, gently caressing it. Ed's pupils dilated ever so slightly. The expression on his face shifted almost imperceptibly to one belying the beginning inklings of comprehension. 

Of course Ed was trying to pass it off as nothing, that surely the conclusion he'd drawn was wrong. Surely he was mistaken. Surely.

He shook his head. "I don't understand." The pit in his stomach was getting heavier by the sec.

Al would have a pit too, if he had a tummy. "What's there to understand? I can't make it any clearer than that." He sighed at Ed's continued denial. "God, Ed, do I need to spell it out for you?! I know you're not stupid, so why act so now?"

The older Elric couldn't quite wrap his head around it, though. The little brother he'd worked endlessly to protect, many times at cost to his own physical and emotional well-being, was saying... He loved him? As a lover? 

Ed blinked.

Come to think of it, maybe it did make sense.

Actually, it made a lot of sense.

They shared everything from home to life. Especially life, as theirs were literally intertwined to the point that Al's captive body was sustaining itself off Ed's in terms of nourishment. 

Ed blinked again, because he realized the taboo Al just spit out his mouth might actually make a whole hell of a lot of fucking sense. 

After all, Ed loved him to the moon and back, and did everything under the sun to make sure Alphonse knew. 

If Ed had a home, Al had a home. If Ed didn't, they had each other and the bond that they relied on more so than friends, peers or significant others. 

Because they were their significant others. That's how this worked.

'Could it be possible,' thought Ed, 'to give TOO much to your family?' 

He'd done this to Al. He did it. It was him. All his fault, like always. Al was too young, too naive. Ed knew the difference between lovers and brothers, but Al had never even touched a girl besides Winry, mom & granny. So he had no idea, no idea.

"Oh no..." said Ed with even wider eyes. "I - I've done this to you."

Done this., says Ed. 

Al thought bitterly, 'He can't even name it, its so disgusting to him. He can't even say "love" anymore, because that means something totally different now.'

'God, he must hate me.'

'Or he thinks me a pitiful creature.'

"Ed, you didn't DO anything. You didn't have to. I told you," the pain was sooo, sooo fucking evident in his voice, "I'm sick. Don't get too close, after all, you wouldn't want to catch this, would you?" 

That stabbed sharper than anything.

And here Edward thought he'd been through every kind of pain, until this.

"Little br-"

"No, don't call me that. I've ruined that... Don't you see." The armor shook his head gently. "I shouldn't have said anything at all..."

Alphonse started to walk away, hands covering his face, when he found he was stopped. Looking down, he saw it was Ed's hand on his chest. The fire in Ed's eyes was like déjà vu; he'd only ever seen it a couple times. 

First, the time when he sat beside Al on the grave and said they were getting their mom back. 

And the second was when Ed said he'd get Al's body back, no matter what. 

Now Al wondered apprehensively what Ed was going to say this time.

Ed's jaw was grit so tightly his lip trembled. 

"I love you too."

Al thought it'd be nice to hope that Ed reciprocated his feelings. But Ed's practically horrified reaction earlier? Ha. What a dream.

"Ed, you don't have to lie." The younger brother said forlornly.

Ed's breath hitched. "How dare you!" He yelled, hurt. Of course Al was awestruck. "Accuse me of not loving you!"

"I only meant-"

"I know what you meant, and it still hurts because you didn't let me finish." Ed swallowed. "I've put more into this relationship than any brother should. Or would." 

Al didnt get it.

So, Ed tried again. "A brother with brotherly feelings wouldn't... Wouldn't devote themselves so completely, as if nobody else mattered. Wouldn't keep their little brother by their side at all times, not only to keep them safe... But also because they needed their company like air to breathe. And a normal brother wouldn't have dreams about getting their baby brother's body back...."

Al tilted his head. "What's wrong with..?"

Ed's wide eyes blinked. "Al, I kissed you. In the dream. I kissed you, smack on the lips. I hugged you and felt your heart beating next to mine." He teared up.

Alphonse saw the look in his brother's eyes and knew there was hope.


	5. End.. or Rather, Beginning?

"But big brother..." 

"I was scared when I woke up. I tried to pass it off as pure bliss, joy, exhilaration - and it is, or was, or will be - but all the same, had we succeeded in getting Mom back, would I have kissed her like that?"

They both knew the answer, so Fullmetal continued. "No, I wouldn't have. That's proof enough for me. I love you, the same way you love me, and I'll give you everything I have to prove it."

Ed thought that Al didn't see the tears that just managed to escape his eyes as they hurriedly embraced. Al did.

Voicing one last concern, something else that had been nagging him, another secret fear, the suit of armor tentatively spoke. "Nothing will change... Right? Brother?"

Ed thought a moment, then glanced up. 

"Wrong, Al. Everything changes." 

And he smiled. Al's body far, far away at the Gate smiled, too, and he felt pleasant waves resonate in his metal-bound soul.

Alphonse held him tightly, feeling so very lucky, and proud, that he had this wonderful human being called Edward Elric to call big brother.

~Fin


End file.
